What are the Five Mother Sauces?

Shermie said:
I've often been told what they are. I think béchamel is one, as well as vinaigrette, but what are the others? :unsure:
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I'm not sure that vinaigrette is a sauce but classed as a dressing. Tomato sauce must appear in the list somewhere. Tartar maybe?. Hollandaise? These days possibly even curry sauce :laugh:
 
Yorky said:
I'm not sure that vinaigrette is a sauce but classed as a dressing. Tomato sauce must appear in the list somewhere. Tartar maybe?. Hollandaise? These days possibly even curry sauce :laugh:
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Here they are.

You're right. Vinaigrett is not & tomato sauce is, so is Hollandaise. I once thought demi-glaze was one.
 
@Shermie

According to the Auguste Esoffier, there were four sauces and then they added one:
B E H T V

1) Bechamel - milk, butter and flour ..
2) Espagnole
3) Hollandaise
4) Tomato
5) Veloute - a meat stock roux ..

However, according to the Institutes of Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France and Le Cordón Bleu of Paris, this original list has been expanded.

The Mother Sauces of the 21st Century are:

Bechamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato, Veloute, Mornay ( Butter), Mustard, Cheese, Cream, Au Jus, Red wine, White wine and Bernaise.
 
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They are called Mother Sauces because they are the birthing place for other sauces. For example - Béchamel is the base for a Mornay sauce. Espagnole is the base for a Demi Glace.
In my humble opinion Bernaise could be a 6th mother sauce - the base for butter sauces like Piccata.

Years ago I was advised by a restauranteur friend that mastering the Mother Sauces was the first step to becoming an excellent home cook or amateur chef.

Just my 2 cents.
 
ElizabethB said:
They are called Mother Sauces because they are the birthing place for other sauces. For example - Béchamel is the base for a Mornay sauce. Espagnole is the base for a Demi Glace.
In my humble opinion Bernaise could be a 6th mother sauce - the base for butter sauces like Piccata.

Just my 2 cents.
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@ElizabethB

Yes, they are the keys .. And are still the root of all culinary teaching and training in France ..
 
This is an extract from Great British Chefs website:

The French revolution marked a huge change in the political, cultural and social landscape of France, with ripple effects throughout the whole of Europe. July 14th commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 which sparked the beginning of the revolution. One year later, the French celebrated their unity at the Fête de la Fédération on the Champs de Mars, and a new wave of innovation and development began.

Cooking during this turbulent time was Marie-Antonin Carême, one of the forefathers of classical French cuisine. Often considered the first ‘celebrity chef’, Carême is most famous for having identified the original ‘mother sauces’ of modern cooking: Béchamel, Espagnole, Velouté and Allemande. Many hundreds of sauces have derived from these originals over the years, most famously with chef Auguste Escoffier in the 1900's adding Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate to the mother sauces and removing Allemande as it was a product of Velouté.
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'Mother' indicates the basic starter sauce(s) from which others can be made. So - really don't understand the expanded list:

Francesca said:
according to the Institutes of Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France and Le Cordón Bleu of Paris, this original list has been expanded. The Mother Sauces of the 21st Century are: Bechamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato, Veloute, Mornay ( Butter), Mustard, Cheese, Cream, Au Jus, Red wine, White wine and Bernaise.
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For example: cheese sauce is derived from Béchamel, so how can it be a mother sauce? Same for some of the others on the list.

Another point:
I think its worth bearing in mind that we are talking classic French training when we refer to the 5 mother sauces - which doesn't necessarily take account of Indian curry sauces, for example.
 
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It is very possible that each country in Asia, as well as around the world, has their own "mother sauces".

I know very little about Indian cuisine and eat it only out every 3 months approx. so I cannot state, an opinión on what I do not know but surely India has its own sauces ..

Just as China and Japan do .. or Thailand or the Latin American Countries ..

Are they based on the French Classics ?

Would require some intense research to find out, however, very possible.

France had very strong ties with Vietnam. Portugal with India, India with England, England with France .. However, their culture is much more ancient ..

However, this thread is about classic French Mother Sauces ..

And as I mentioned they are still taught in all Culinary Institutes in France and also by French Institutes abroad as well ..
 
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Francesca said:
@Shermie

According to the Auguste Esoffier, there were four sauces and then they added one:
B E H T V

1) Bechamel - milk, butter and flour ..
2) Espagnole
3) Hollandaise
4) Tomato
5) Veloute - a meat stock roux ..

However, according to the Institutes of Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France and Le Cordón Bleu of Paris, this original list has been expanded.

The Mother Sauces of the 21st Century are:

Bechamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato, Veloute, Mornay ( Butter), Mustard, Cheese, Cream, Au Jus, Red wine, White wine and Bernaise.
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Thanks, I found them.

But I never heard of a roux being a mother sauce. Must be jazzed up in some way. :wink:
 
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